Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

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Lungi dal vago volto, RV680

Recordings

'A delightful programme of familiar and quite unfamiliar Vivaldi' (Gramophone)'This thoughtfully and effectively chosen programme deserves fhe attention of all baroque music enthusiasts' (The Good CD Guide)» More

Far from the lovely face of my beautiful Elvira I cannot live, alas! And yet cruel destiny to torment me condemns me now to tend my flocks. But what is this beauty dimly meeting my gaze from afar, is my shepherdess coming? I fear I am mistaken, I’m lost, I run, I stop, I smile, I sigh, all at once, I burn, I freeze, happy and tormented. It seems to be she – by her dress but not by her face; Ah, for pity’s sake, Love, kindly Heaven, take this cloud from my beautiful sun.

Far from the lovely face of my beautiful ElviraI cannot live. Oh God! To torment me a cruel fate has condemned me to herd cattle. But who is the shepherdess coming this way, the faint traces of whose beauty my gaze has lit upon from this distance? I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake, I’ll lose my way, I run, I stop, I laugh, I sigh, all of me burns, I freeze, I am both happy and tortured. Her uniform’s that of a shepherdess her beauty’s not; love, for pity’s sake, friendly Heaven, from before my lovely Sun, burn off the clouds, the veil.

Be cheerful, my heart! at last my eager eye sees what it seeks: it’s you, my love, I see you again, my dear, I embrace you, my Shepherdess. My dear, forgive my suspicious fears – for a wandering Shepherd does not often see the full sunlight in these shadowy groves.

Take delight, oh my heart, for my pining eye has found its treasure in the end: I know you, my beauty, I set my eyes on you again, my love, I hold you in my arms, my shepherdess. Forgive, my dearest, my gasps of wonder for wandering shepherds are unused, in these shady valleys, to seeing the sun clearly.